I have pictures of the first moments I laid eyes on my beautiful grandchild in the hospital, as well as our tour of Cuba in a pink Cadillac convertible. I tried to capture the smiles of so many Cubans excited to show American tourists their country for the first time, the colors of 1960 automobiles against a backdrop of grey buildings in disrepair, by shooting over a hundred pictures in one day.
Then there are pictures of the Holidays: Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and, of course, Christmas. So many pictures and videos of Christmas. Birthdays through the years.
Vacations, Disney World, cruises, and trips to the beach. Everyday moments with family. My granddaughters who are acting silly or dressing up like the butterflies that they are—pictures of family group hugs.
There is a Google Chromecast on my kitchen counter, which brings me smiles and new memories in photographs every. single. day.
Since my first granddaughter was born in 2020 (yes, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic), I have made a conscious effort to take pictures of her every time we are together. When her sister was born thirteen months later, I continued the practice, so there is a history of our time together and an illustration of the timeline from infancy to toddlerhood.
I remember seeing photos of children on social media standing in the same spot wearing a similar outfit so that you could flip through and see the span of time from when they were a toddler to an adult. I hope to be around long enough or have another family member take over to make that video happen.
Photographs are essential to me.
They capture precious and ordinary moments in time. I can look at any picture that I have taken and have it immediately transport me to that particular place and event.
It is literally frozen in time.
When I was 18, my Aunt gave me pictures of my life before I was four years old that I had never seen before. I recall very few memories from that period of my life. My mother passed away the day before my fourth birthday.
In some ways, it is like looking at someone else’s family. They all seemed so happy and were having such fun. I love the riding fire truck with side ladders that I shared with my brother and the mischievous look in my eyes. I was always smiling and obviously loved facing the camera.
Those pictures are precious to me because they fill in the blanks of my life before my memories begin.
Now that my granddaughter is the same age as that little girl (me!) in the photos, I am amazed to know how much she is aware of everything around her, how curious, and how loving. Was I like that? I’d like to think so. The pictures from long ago lead me to believe that.
Sometimes, I have weeks or months that I say, “Whew! Where did the time go? How did it get to be “X” month already?”
I have all of these pictures (now primarily digital) to look back and remember what just happened or where we were the previous year or even the previous decades.
It is a diary of time.
It is my life and my family’s life documented. It is a moment in time that almost always brings a smile to my face, a memory of loved ones passed, or the beauty of this planet Earth from our travels.
Photos are my time machine.
They stop the world from spinning for just a little while. These photos put me back into that scene, that millisecond when the photo was taken, to the significance of that place and time. It was just a few seconds, but that was enough to feel the feelings of that moment all over again.
I cannot imagine my life without these photos because they are my life’s visual chronicles. They are my memories, my legacy, and, I suppose, my family’s.-even the family I will never meet.
Thank goodness the pictures are digital now because I couldn’t possibly have enough storage to contain them all.
So, the next time you take a picture, even of a random tree on a pathway, a pet, a portrait, a child, or a family event, slow down time enough to capture that particular moment. Each picture and setting is so very rare and unique.
Think of it as the visual part of the journal of your life because it is.
Take some pictures this week.
Keep reading! Keep smiling!
xx
